<p>Timeline of Old Testament Books &amp; their Parts </p><p>Timeline </p><p>1000 BC </p><p></p><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Historical Circumstances </li><li style="flex:1">Torah/Pentateuch </li><li style="flex:1">Historical Books </li><li style="flex:1">Writings/Wisdom Lit. </li><li style="flex:1">Prophets </li></ul><p></p><p><strong>Psalms </strong>(1000–400s?) <strong>Proverbs </strong>(950–450?) <br><strong>United Monarchy </strong></p><p>under David &amp; Solomon </p><p><strong>Yahwists </strong>begin national epic </p><p>922 </p><p><strong>Divided Monarchy </strong></p><p>Northern Kingdom = Israel capital, Samaria </p><p><strong>Elohists </strong>write national epic for </p><p>the north </p><p><em>Elijah and Elisha </em></p><p>Southern Kingdom = Judah capital Jerusalem </p><p><strong>Hosea </strong>and <strong>Amos </strong>preach in </p><p>Israel; <strong>Micah </strong>preaches in Judah <br>760 </p><p>721 </p><p><strong>Isaiah of Jerusalem </strong>advises </p><p>Judean king against alliances (most of Isa 1–39) </p><p><strong>Assyria destroys Israel </strong></p><p>and reduces Judah to a vassal state; then must pull troops out to fight Babylon back in the East <br>Deuteronomists edit Amos </p><p>(2:4-5; 3:7) </p><p><strong>Job </strong>(600s–400s?) </p><p>622 </p><p><strong>King Josiah reunifies nation </strong></p><p>under the old covenant, then is killed at the Battle of Megiddo in 609 BCE </p><p><strong>Deuteronomists </strong>write Joshua, </p><p>Judges, 1 &amp; 2 Samuel, 1 &amp; 2 Kings </p><p><strong>Deuteronomists </strong>(Josiah’s </p><p>scribes) merge&nbsp;J and E and take up the story from Moses’ final words to a history of the people in the promised land; Dtrs write and revise through the Babylonian Exile </p><p><strong>Nahum </strong>prophesies against As- </p><p>syria just before Babylonians de- </p><p>stroy it; <strong>Zephaniah </strong>prophesies vs. idol worship; <strong>Habakkuk </strong></p><p>prophesies of the coming Babylonian threat </p><p><strong>Ruth? </strong></p><p>587 539 </p><p><strong>Babylon destroys Judah </strong></p><p>kills Davidic line and exiles top leadership to Babylon, but then must fight off Persia to east </p><p><strong>Jeremiah </strong>and <strong>Ezekiel </strong></p><p>prophesy before and through </p><p>the Exile; <strong>II Isaiah </strong>prophesies </p><p>from Exile (Isa 40–55) </p><p><strong>Persia defeats Babylon </strong></p><p>and allows the Jewish exiles to return, even subsidizes the rebuilding of some infrastructure like the Temple </p><p><strong>Priestly writers </strong>regroup nation,&nbsp;<strong>The Chronicler </strong>writes 1 &amp; 2 </p><p>Chronicles (which recast the biblical history from Adam to 2 Kings with an emphasis on David) and Ezra-Nehemiah <strong>Ruth? </strong>(set in the period of the Judges, but possibly written after exile to counter Ezra’s mandate against foreign wives?) </p><p><strong>Song of Songs </strong>(after 539) </p><p>merging J + E + D and&nbsp;adding their own stories of God’s control and blessing =&nbsp;P </p><p><strong>III Isaiah </strong>prophesies after the re- </p><p>turn from Exile; post-exilic edi- </p><p>tion of Amos; <strong>Lamentations </strong>and <strong>Baruch </strong>added to the Jeremiah tradition; <strong>Haggai, Zecha- riah, Malachi, Joel </strong>(post-exi- </p><p>lic prophets) <strong>Jonah </strong>(set during Assyrian period, written after Babylonian Exile) </p><p><strong>Final redactor </strong><em>adds connect- </em></p><p><em>ing bits to piece the final Torah together </em></p><p><strong>Qoheleth / Ecclesiastes </strong></p><p>(300s) <br>332 198 </p><p><strong>Greece defeats Persia </strong></p><p>Hellenistic Empires split Ptolemies lose “Israel” to Seleucids, who antagonize Jews by imposing Greek culture </p><p><strong>Sirach / Ecclesiasticus </strong></p><p>(200–175) <br><strong>Tobit </strong>(set in Assyrian period, but </p><p>written after Babyonian exile) <br>168 </p><p>164 </p><p><strong>Maccabean Revolt </strong><br><strong>Judith </strong>(set in Assyrian or </p><p>Babylonian period?, but written after Babyonian exile) </p><p><strong>Esther </strong>(set in Persian period, </p><p>but written after Babyonian exile) <br>Jewish family, Hasmoneans (a.k.a. Maccabees) wins, takes over kingship and eventually high priesthood, with Seleucids’ blessing, splits Jewish society </p><p><strong>Wisdom </strong>(100?) </p><p><strong>Daniel </strong>(set in Babylonian Exile, written during Maccabean Revolt) </p><p><strong>Pompey takes Jerusalem for Rome </strong></p><p>63 37 </p><p><strong>1 &amp; 2 Maccabees </strong></p><p>Rome supports the Herodian family of Iturea in successful war against Hasmoneans; Herod the Great converts to Judaism </p><p><strong>Herod the Great dies Jesus is born </strong></p><p>4 BCE </p>